A man accused of stealing a cellphone was arrested yesterday after Cumberland County sheriff deputies used the self-portraits he took with the device to track him down.
Sheriff spokeswoman Debbie Tanna said the suspect, 33-year-old James Matthews, turned himself in after relatives saw his “selfies” broadcast on television news. The Sheriff’s Office released the photos to the media earlier in the day in the hopes of catching the man.
Matthews, of the 1000 block of Frank Welsh Road, Fayetteville, was charged with larceny and possession of stolen goods. He was released from the Cumberland County Detention Center after posting a $2,000 unsecured bond.
Investigators said the swiped Samsung Gravity smartphone automatically pushed the pictures to the phone owner’s account on Photobucket.com. The victim saw the pictures on her account and called authorities, according to WRAL.
The phone, worth $200, was stolen May 17 while it was on a counter near the register at a Family Dollar store on Legion Road in Fayetteville.
Matthews is scheduled for a first court appearance June 26 in Cumberland County District Court.
